SOFTBALL: Greencastle-Antrim pounds Boiling Springs

Friday

Apr 5, 2013 at 11:30 AM

By Ben Destefan

GREENCASTLE — Apparently, the Greencastle-Antrim varsity softball team needed to take out some lingering frustration.

After falling victim to a seventh-inning rally by Shippensburg in Tuesday's season opener, the Blue Devils responded with a 13-1 trouncing of Boiling Springs 48 hours later, simply overwhelming their opponent in Thursday's Mid-Penn Colonial Division victory.

Leading just 2-1, G-A erupted for 11 runs on 12 hits in the bottom of the third, ultimately implementing the 10-run rule midway through the fifth. For the game, the Blue Devils pounded out a total of 17 hits, eight of which went for extra bases, with all nine members of the batting order contributing at least one base knock.

Needless to say, offense certainly doesn't appear to be an issue moving forward.

"Entering the year, we knew we could hit the ball, and once we got going, everyone seemed to follow," G-A head coach Mark DeCarli said following his first win at the helm. "We hit the ball hard from top to bottom and each girl did their part."

Headlining G-A's offensive attack was shortstop Erin Bontrager, who finished a perfect 3-for-3 with a triple, a double and four RBI. Six other Blue Devils collected two hits on the afternoon, including Casey German, Whitley Mongan, Jen Patton, Mary Ward, Michaela Ensminger and Haleigh Regal.

Equally impressive was the pitching of freshman Elizabeth Ward, who earned her first career varsity victory by holding the Bubblers to only three hits and one run while striking out four.

"Elizabeth did a great job," DeCarli said. "She definitely didn't look like this was her first time pitching at this level. She threw strikes, kept them to only one run and allowed the defense to make plays behind her."

After Boiling Springs scored its lone run in the top of the first, G-A answered in the home half of the frame on an RBI-single from Bontrager before base hits by Elizabeth Ward and Regal granted the Blue Devils a 2-1 lead at the end of the second.

The margin stood until the bottom of the third, with a leadoff double by Mary Ward sparking G-A's 11-run parade. Triples from Bontrager and Ashlynn Schaeffer paired with RBI-singles by Mongan, Patton and Ensminger extended the advantage to 8-1 before the Bubblers recorded the first out of the inning, abruptly blowing the game open.

A textbook bunt by Regal kept things rolling with Ward's second hit of the frame setting the stage for an impressive sequence of power, beginning with German's two-run triple for a 10-1 lead.

Mongan followed by roping a triple of her own down the right-field line before Bontrager launched a towering shot off the fence in left-center, resulting in an RBI-double.

Patton then capped the scoring by connecting on G-A's fifth triple of the inning, pushing the margin to 13-1.

Now with the 10-run rule in effect, Elizabeth Ward wasted little time sealing the deal, retiring the Bubblers in order in both the fourth and fifth innings, closing out the all-around convincing performance.

The Blue Devils (1-1) will be back in action on Saturday at the Cumberland Valley Tournament before hosting Camp Hill in a non-league game on Monday.

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